A quiet and unassuming cricketer, Rob Baker showed great promise as a junior
player, ultimately becoming Australia's under-19 captain in 1994 and an
inductee of the Australian Cricket Academy the same year. As a skilled
middle order batsman and handy left arm spin bowler, he duly progressed to
make his senior state debut in 1995-96 and compiled a superb 83 in the
Sheffield Shield Final that season to underline his ability. Depth in
batting resources made it hard for him to win a permanent berth for the next
three seasons but, when he struck his maiden first-class century (against
Tasmania in Perth) in 1998-99 and followed it with a defiant 88 in grim
circumstances in Melbourne to steer the Warriors into that season's Shield
Final, it seemed his place in the Western Australian senior side was secure.
Yet, shortly after becoming the first bowler to take a hat-trick for the
state in a domestic one-day match, Baker's career then stalled as the legacy
of an on-field collision with a club teammate in late 1999 which presented
him with a fractured cheekbone. Even worse was to follow when the onset of
chronic fatigue syndrome cut him down in 2000, forcing him to undergo a long
period of recovery that ensured that another two years passed before he was
able to play for Western Australia again. (John Polack, January 2002)